First Cuts
by xmisscaitlin
Summary: Six interns at McMahon-Helmsley Hospital thought that their biggest concerns would be learning where to cut and how to save lives. They didn't count on their personal lives weaving into their work. When the two mix the six doctors find that drawing the line between the personal and professional isn't nearly as easy as the thought it would be.
1. Chapter 1

****_So, before we get going, the first two chapters are simply introductions and give a little bit of a back story as to why the six interns want to be doctors. When we get started with the medical stuff in chp. 3, there will be quite the AN. :)_

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**Chapter One  
****Here We Are Pt. 1**

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"Why is today going by so slowly?"

Glancing over at Justin whose thick accent had formed the words Ted Dibiase Jr could only shake his head, knowing that his South African born friend was just as impatient for the next day or at the very least evening to come. They had plans to have a few beers as they watched movies before crashing for the night since each of them had big days ahead of them, Justin would be going back to work for the first time since his promotion and Ted began his resident internship. He still couldn't quite believe that he'd been accept to the number one ranking hospital in the United States, out of thousands of people who had just finished medical school, he was one of the select one hundred that would be placed in the surgical program.

"You could just go to sleep now." He suggested.

"It's not even twelve." Was the simple reply that he received.

Glancing at the clock he realized his friend was right and that before he could really do anything he needed to head to the hospital to get all of the information he would need so that he would be one step ahead of the game. Pulling out his phone he frowned as he pulled up the list of things that he had yet to get and realized that he couldn't get them until tomorrow since he had a feeling locker combo's hadn't been handed out yet. He had gotten his stethoscope or the previous day since his old one was falling apart and been told that scrubs that would fit him would be placed inside his locker and going to get another pair would be pointless.

Looking around his room at the pile of laundry that he'd been putting off for too long he frowned and briefly though about leaving it until later before letting out a groan and picking up the hamper and stuffing the clothes piled around it inside. Thankful for the laundry room in the basement of his apartment building he grabbed the bag of quarters sitting on the kitchen counter before making his way to the elevator. Feeling the slightly lighter than usual weight he glanced down and frowned at the twelve or so quarters, hoping it would be enough and he wouldn't have to use the credit card his father had forced him to take.

Thinking of his name sake he wasn't able to repress the scowl that came to his face as he remembered his father pushing the small plastic card in his hand and telling him that when he realized he couldn't make it as a surgeon the family money was his to use. When he'd turned to his mother in hopes of getting some back up or at least telling his father to be quiet, she had simply gave him an apologetic look while she shrugged. Even his younger brother, who he'd been sure would have been on his side had let out a sigh before slapping his shoulder and telling him that when he was done trying to prove he could make it on his own, his apartment had a spare room that was as good as his.

"I'll be the best god damn surgeon they've ever so much as heard of." He muttered to himself before stepping out of the elevator.

As he selected a few washing machines he stuffed his threw his clothes inside them with a little more force than necessary, trying not to let the reminder of his family's clear lack of belief in him ruin his day. After filling four of the large white washers with his clothes and starting him he glanced at the door, wondering if he should leave and come back or not since apparently there was a clothes thief striking their building. Letting out a sigh as he moved over to the small waiting area which was complete with a couch and flat screen TV fixed on the wall he picked up the remote and surfed the channels, hoping something of interest would come on while he spent his day washing his clothes.

* * *

Staring up at the large glass and steel structure that was the place she'd be spending most of her time for the next seven years, Maria Kanellis let out a long breath as she took in the five floors that spanned the size of half a city block. Running a hand through her fiery red hair she briefly thought about entering and taking the day to simply walk around so that she would know the place a little better when she started but quickly dismissed the idea. She would be spending enough time in McMahon-Helmsley hospital for the next seven years that would be her residency and had a feeling that by the time that was up, she would probably be almost sick of it.

The thought of her surgical internship starting brought a bright smile to her gloss covered lips as she realized that while four months before when she'd first come to the sprawling city of Rosewood for her interview it hadn't seemed real. The fact that she had sat across from Mark Calaway, the Chief of Surgery and one of the greatest surgeon of the time had been like a dream and she'd convinced herself that at any point she would wake up in her apartment in Chicago. When the interview had concluded and she was safely tucked away in her hotel room she let out a small squeal at the fact that she would be starting her career at the number one ranked hospital in the country.

She could still vividly picture her first class of medical school where Matt Striker had cut straight to the point and told them that he full expected at least half of the class to drop out of the class or switch majors. That moment had cemented the fact that she wanted to become a surgeon even more than the image of her father laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to more machines than she could count as he told her the doctors couldn't do anything for him, the cancer was too advanced. Glancing up at the cloudless sky as tears burned her eyes she took a deep breath and mentally promised him that she would make him proud of her before wiping away the tear that fell from her eye.

Turning around when her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten breakfast before her impulsive stop she made her way to the small pizzeria a few blocks over, vaguely wondering what the following day would be like. Other than the fact that it would be a forty-eight hour shift spent under the watchful eye of her attending, who was rumored to be a tyrant, she had no idea what to expect and made sure that she didn't start. That had been one of the things that she had been told more times than she could estimate to never expect anything in the world of a doctor since half of the time something changed or the unexpected popped up and she was taking it to heart.

Shaking her head she pushed all medical thoughts away, wanting to save them for tomorrow as she pushed open the door to the place she had decided on for lunch, her phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans as she did so. Frowning as she pulled it out and looked down at it before rolling her eyes when the familiar name of her best friend flashed across the screen, the now slightly embarrassing ringtone starting to blare from the small speaker. Hitting ignore she quickly typed out a text asking what was up and explaining that she was about to order lunch and would call during her walk back to the hotel.

"Welcome to Luigi's, what can I get you?" The teenage girl behind the counter asked with a bright and clearly fake smile.

"A veggie pizza, break sticks and a sweet tea, please. To go." The red head smiled digging her debit card from her wallet.

"Thanks, if you could just take a seat and wait, I should have that ready in about five minutes."

Nodding she sat in the chair by the door and looked at her receipt, surprised by the low price before stuffing it in her small black purse and taking out her phone, dialing Mickie's number after she read the text demanding she call, "Hey, what's so important?" She asked, scanning the menu wondering what it was that her friend was blowing out of proportion.

"A.J. broke up with me!" She explained in a hoarse voice that Maria could only guess meant she'd gotten all of her crying out of the way.

The news didn't exactly surprise the Chicago native as she asked her friend to elaborate on what had happened and how, the realization that soon she wouldn't really have the time to listen to Mickie's usual drama queen take on everything springing to her mind. Letting out a small sigh she made the promise that while her schedule wasn't hectic , she would listen to any minuscule detail that she had to in order to fill the gap that she knew was soon coming. Along with this realization was the one that if she wasn't there to listen the woman she currently called a best friend would take it personally and it would more or less be the end of the friendship that had lasted the last four years.

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Taking a deep breath as he ran a hand over his face, Cody Rhodes let out a long breath as he looked across the table at his brother who was happily chewing a mouthful of the pasta that their mother had cooked. He wasn't sure why it was that the older man got under his skin so much or why Dustin had suddenly decided that he wanted to complete his fellowship in a state halfway across the country after promising Cody he would show him the ropes. They had finally agreed to leave the past where it was and start fresh with Cody's first year out of medical school by starting together at the world renowned hospital, though at completely different levels in their career. He couldn't deny the fact that he was slightly hurt by his older brothers sudden what felt like abandonment before they could really even start a relationship that they'd both purposely avoided having.

Still, he could understand Dustin's view since the hospital he would be transferring to was known to have a good department in what he was studying and Cody knew that if the situation was reversed he'd probably do the same. Telling his brother as much he was slightly surprised when the older of the two let him know that he still had a little time left before he had to move and would spend that time telling Cody what all he had learned. The words were received with a smile before they went back to eating and the raven haired man realized that when his brother left he would have to find someplace else to live since there was no way he would be able to afford their shared apartment on his own and moving back in with his parents was simply not an option.

"I'm heading out now. Thanks for dinner. I'll see you at home, Dust." He said after they had finished eating, the plates cleaned and put away.

After giving his mother a kiss on the head and nodding at his dad he grabbed his keys and slid out the door, heading to his car and quickly sliding in behind the wheel before starting it and heading to the convenience store across the street from his apartment. Changing the radio station to one of the few country ones that he'd found couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips as the familiar sound of Blake Shelton's Redneck filled the car. By the time the song was over he had pulled into the parking lot of the store and frowned at the realization that the distance between his parent's house and his apartment was only a three or four minute drive.

"I'll have to move anyway to be closer to the hospital." He mumbled to himself as he cut off the engine.

Shaking his head as he walked into the store only to be hit by a blast of surprisingly cold air and let out a sigh, the air had yet to start cooling and he guessed it had to be about ninety or at least that was what they humidity was making it feel like. The thought of what the hospital would feel like came to mind and he wondered how it was that doctors always seemed perfectly comfortable yet patients always complained about the coolness. He'd been told by various people it was that they were not only accustom to it but moved through the halls and rooms so much that they simply didn't get a chance to feel the air the way those who were forced to sit or lay in the same spot did.

It had sunken in a while ago that he would be starting his career, the same career that when he'd told his high school friends or even college buddies, they laughed and told him that he wasn't serious enough to manage it. The looks on their faces when he'd seen them about the city and told them that he'd finished medical school and was no starting his residency internship had been well worth it and had been exactly what he'd pictured when he thought about skipping a class. Before one of his closer buddies had turned away he had explained that it wasn't lack of faith or that he was stupid that made it hard to believe it was that he'd always believed Cody would end up becoming the best running back in the country at the time.

Shaking his thoughts of the past from his head he grabbed a paper and one of the housing books from the rack by the counter and after a few minutes hesitation a pack of cigarettes promising himself that it would be his last. The clerk, Heath, who he had become friends with simply gave him a knowing look and shook his head as he scanned the items before asking if he'd seen the city's professional baseball team beat New York. After a few minutes of small talk that was thankfully void of questions about the following day he left and headed for his house, it was getting late and he wanted to have a decent night sleep before the long shift ahead of him.

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_So, there you go. The first three interns. :) The ones in the next chapter will be Barbie, Wade and Eve. :) Their little back stories will happen later in the day...as you can tell I started with Ted in early morning, Maria around lunch and Cody for dinner so. Eve will be dinner, Wade will be about 8 and Barbie will be like 10._

_Let me know what you think of my character selection. Hope you enjoyed!_


	2. Chapter 2

****_So, here it is, the other three interns._

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**Chapter 2  
****Here We Are Pt. 2**

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Glancing around the small apartment as she placed the last of her things away, Eve Torres couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips at the thought of having a place that was finally her own with no roommate to mess things up. Throughout college and medical school she had been forced to share a small room with someone else who was usually far messier than she was and as much as she wanted to get her own place she hadn't been able to afford it. Now, at twenty six she had finally saved up enough money, as far back as her freshman year in high school and not only could she pay the rent but what little she would start earning, would be enough for her to live off of with a little money still tucked away.

Shifting her eyes to look at the two certificates that she proudly displayed on the wall, were her Ph.D. and M.D., the Ph.D. from Berkley and the M.D. from Stanford, where her mother and father had met. Whenever she looked at them, a smile pulled at her lips and this time was no exception except that it was a little larger as she ran her fingers through her hair. She knew that tomorrow was the actual start of her career and that the degrees hanging on her walls wouldn't be worth much unless she worked her ass off and did whatever she had to do, the best that she could do it.

She had promised herself when she started medical school that she wouldn't kiss any asses or become the best by being friends with people that had pull and she hadn't, her two degrees and finishing at the top of her class were all products of hard work. She had long decided to apply the same logic to her surgical internship and residency and briefly wondered how many people out of the rest wouldn't and would try to depend on their looks or personalities instead of their brains. Thinking about the model that she heard that she would be working with she couldn't help but roll her eyes, though she wouldn't deny that the fact that the woman had not only gone to med school but finished it was impressive.

As she wondered why a model would want to become a surgeon, her own reason flashed through her mind as she pictured herself sitting in the passenger seat of her father's car, trying to close the space over his heart as his blood coated her hands. Taking a deep breath she shook the thought away as she walked into her kitchen, grabbing a bowl and the less than nutritious box of cereal that she'd long become addicted to. Grabbing a spoon and briefly turning it around in her hand to pretend that it was a scalpel, she couldn't help the smile that once again took over her cheek muscles, more than ready to go to sleep so that it would be the next morning.

"I'm going to be working with Mike Mizanin, cardio god." She mumbled to herself as she thought of the Head of Cardio at the hospital.

One of the few people that she looked up to, was the man she'd long ago heard simply liked to be called 'Miz' and thought back to the mixer that the hospital had thrown where she'd met him and he'd simply brushed her off to flirt with two women. Rolling her eyes she couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was about him that seemed to rub her the wrong way, yes, she looked up to him professionally but in those brief three of four minutes that she'd attempted to talked to him, she found herself wanting to slap him. The air of arrogance around him had been something she'd picked up on immediately but she'd dealt with that plenty of times and knew that it wasn't what had set her off, after a few minutes she realized that it was the fact that he'd brushed her off and that didn't happen often.

"We'll see who's brushing off who when he wants me on his service and I pretend to want to be on someone else's." She smirked, as she took a bite of her cereal.

After she finished the bowl and cleaned the dishes she'd used a glance at the clock told her that it was nearing eight o'clock and as awake as she felt, she knew she needed to head to bed if she wanted to get a decent night sleep in. Drumming her nails on the counter as she glanced around, looking for an excuse to say up she caught sight of the stacks of medical papers she'd fished out of one of her many boxes in her storage room and smiled to herself. Picking up the top section she headed toward her bedroom, turning off the lights before placing the papers on her nightstand and changing into her pajamas before settling into bed.

* * *

"You're not from around here are you?" The cashier behind the counter asked.

"What gave that away love, my accent perhaps?" Wade Barrett asked the girl before grabbing his bag and walking out of the small supermarket.

He had long ago learned that the fact that he had an accent made him an oddity in the United States and that it would lead to people asking what it was like across the water but had grown tired of it over the last ten years. At first he had loved the attention, what teenage boy didn't want girls constantly flirting with them, now however it had long grown tiring and he felt like they would never stop until his accent was gone. The only place that he hadn't been questioned had been in college where everyone was too buy worrying about papers and being late for classes to stop him when they heard his voice and he couldn't help but be thankful for it.

There was also the fact that it seemed that in Rosewood City, no one really seemed to notice since there was an array of them everywhere, and his didn't seem to bother them until he interchanged chips and crisps. Finding the large city and learning that it was where he'd be spending the next almost decade of his life was a relief in the fact that not only was it so diverse but out of the many places he'd lived since moving to America, it was where he felt the most comfortable. The inner city was large enough that it was never boring but the outskirt were far more modern than he had expected and reminded him of the first town he'd lived in when coming to America, with houses that looked like they belonged to millionaires to ones that were smaller and far more easy to tell were owned by hard workers.

He'd often tried to picture himself in either neighborhoods and was surprised at just how easily it was that he could do that, he had long known what it was like to have more money than the average person thanks to his fighting career. The smirk that covered his lips was one that he knew was arrogant and tended to put people off but he didn't particularly care, after all, how many people could say that they were free of two hundred thousand dollar student loans. The career had not only given him a way to put himself through medical school but had been part of the reason that he now wanted to become a surgeon.

After his fair share of broken noses he'd gotten interested in plastics but he'd quickly lost interest when he watched one of his friends get beaten so badly that he would have died in the ring if it hadn't been for a surgeon watching in the crowd. The man whose name he couldn't remember had mentioned in specializing in general surgery, which had been lost on Wade at the time, had asked for a few tools before cutting into the fighter then and there. Realization that as much as he loved fighting, he could be helping fighters and various other people everyday had led to Wade walking up to his manager and telling him that he was going to go to medical school and when he was done, he was retiring from the fighting world.

Letting out a small chuckle as he let himself into his apartment room, Wade rubbed his free hand along his jaw which had been the target of a rather mean right hook the previous night before he'd landed the fight ending blow to his opponents sternum. Taking a deep breath and scrunching his nose at the flowery smell that the hotel room seemed to be saturated in and wouldn't eliminate no matter how hard he tried. He'd used cologne, air spray, dirty clothes but nothing seemed to work and he wondered if he'd appreciate it after his first shift at the hospital or if he would prefer the sterile smell over the flowery one.

"Guess I'll find out." He mumbled to himself as sat on the bed and opened the bag of fast food.

* * *

The sound of her alarm blaring what seemed to be right next to her ears pulled a groan from Barbara Blank's lips as she cracked her eyes open to look at the time before letting out a sigh and moving to sit up. The action made her realize that not only was she naked but that she wasn't alone in her bed and frowned before turning to face the man lying next to her taking up far more of the covers that she would have liked. Raising an eyebrow as she took in his handsome face and the large body covered in defined muscles she couldn't help but wonder exactly what his profession was, if she went by his hair she would guess something military. Shrugging a shoulder she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before getting off the bed, knowing that whether he served the country or not, he needed to leave by the time she was out of the shower.

"Good morning." He smirked, clearly either feeling the bed move when she did, "Why don't you come back and we can pick up where we left off last night."

She couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips even when she rolled her eyes, "I can't, if I don't get in the shower like, now, I'm going to be late. I really don't want to be late on my first day so you need to get dressed and be gone by the time I get out of the shower."

"Oh, well. Okay."

"Right, so goodbye…um…"

"John." He smiled, the two dimples that had made her bring him back to her house appearing.

"Barbara." She nodded, holding out her hand, "Well, it was nice to meet you, John. I'll see you around." She laughed before heading out of the room, leaving him to get dressed.

When she got out of the shower fifteen minutes later she was surprised and slightly disappointed that he wasn't there and frowned before glancing at the clock and letting out a sigh before getting dressed. As she did so she couldn't help but think back to the various times that she'd watched her mother get ready every morning to go to the same place while telling Barbie that she needed to hurry so that they wouldn't be late. As much as she had hated it and the neglect that her mother had inflicted upon her, it was Denise Blank who had made her want to become a surgeon when the older woman was diagnosed with Alzheimer's six years ago.

The diagnoses had not only been the reason that she'd gone to medical school after backpacking and sleeping her way across country but why she had moved back to the city and house that she'd lived in when she was a child. Her departure from Boston was something she'd known would come at one point or another and had been slightly surprised when it was because her mother, a world renowned surgeon, was sick with something that there was no cure or treatment for. As much as she wanted to resent the woman and tell her that she could take care of herself, she found that she couldn't do it since it simply because it was her mother, who had been there the best that she knew how.

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts from the past she let out a sigh as she glanced around the dusty house that she wasn't sure she wanted to sell or keep and let out a sneeze before grabbing her keys. After locking the door she quickly made her way to the hospital, not at all surprised that she knew the fastest way there and focused on the busy streets rather than which turns she was taking or how fast she was going. Out of the many cities that she'd gone to, she wouldn't deny that Rosewood was her favorite; it was slightly smaller than New York but was just as busy and was home to just as many stars and business empires as both The Big Apple and Los Angeles.

A few turns later and she was pulling into the parking lot of the hospital that's imposing structure was set almost in the exact middle of the city, making it so that no matter where you lived, the time to get there would be just about the same as anywhere else. Killing the engine and grabbing her purse she glanced up at the second floor that she had already spent so much time in and would be where she would spend even more and couldn't help but smile. The day marked the first in a career where she would not only get to save lives but hopefully find or create a cure for the disease that her mother was becoming victim to more and more with every day that passed.

"Today, you start the road to becoming a surgeon, Barbie." She said to herself as she headed for the doors, a smile so big that it made her cheeks hurt.

* * *

_Yes, Eve and Barbie are based off of Christina and Meredith...not sure how much besides their backgrounds but we'll see. Next chapter they all meet and have their first shift._


End file.
